Research

The Institute of Making conducts and supports multidisciplinary research on the topic of materials, materiality and the made world. As well as having our own in-house team of researchers, we also offer the wider research community a place to engage, investigate and explore matter and processes of making. Listed below are some of our current research activities.

Current research projects

The Institute of Making are partners on AT 2030: Spark: Innovation. Based at the GDI, it is led by Dr Catherine Holloway (Computer Science UCL) and Professor Mark Miodownik. This programme aims to improve the use of emerging technology for accessibility and to spur on new innovations. More

This project brings together a diverse team of UCL researchers interested in solving the plastic waste problem. Our aim is to develop ways to design-out waste from plastic packaging and create new business opportunities. More

This six-month project, funded by the Starworks Innovation Project, will produce a bespoke silicone liner that is printed using a multi-print head 3D syringe printer to improve comfort and skin damage in child prosthetics. More

This practice-based PhD project takes sausage fork in hand to find out how the sensory practices of cooking and eating together, processing and transforming edible materials, might advance knowledge between disciplines about the nature of matter exchange between human and non-human bodies. More

There is a considerable engineering challenge to create a prosthetic liner that ensure mechanical transmission of forces while ensuring comfort and preventing skin damage. This project combines existing stretchable sensors with realtime computation to create a system that adapts to the prosthetic user. More

Between 2011 and 2014, the Institute of Making ran an EPSRC-funded initiative aimed at bridging the gaps between the internal communities of University College London and King's College London, through the topic of materials and making. To this end, we facilitated and supported activities designed to invigorate innovative materials-related research through research grants, summer studentships, workshops and research forums. More

At the Institute of Making, we are actively conducting research into developing a sensoaesthetic theory of materials. Materials science concerns itself with the physical characterisation of materials, while artists and designers are generally much more interested in the aesthetic side of materials. Applying scientific methodology to the study of the aesthetic, sensual and emotional side of materials – their sensoaesthetic properties - may improve our understanding of how people interact with materials, and may lead to more innovative and multisensory design. In developing a sensoaesthetic theory of materials we aim to forge links between these two material domains. More